Kim Kardashian is no stranger to showing off her famous figure — and she does so with the help of LA-based designer Laura Petrielli-Pulice, who is the founder of Kardashian’s "go-to" skin-tight latex brand Vex.
Vex was born while Petrielli-Pulice studied at FIT in New York City. In the beginning, she never intended to launch her own brand but knew she wanted to design clothes using only latex. Now, over the past 20 years, she has created her own latex world in Los Angeles, featuring designs that combine fetish style with modern takes on timeless silhouettes.
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For the larger part of its history, Vex has been a one-woman operation. She now employs an assistant in Chicago who helps process orders, but design and production still remain solely in Petrielli-Pulice’s hands. Latex is a notoriously fickle and delicate material to work with, and requires a skilled hand and careful eye to execute her vision.
Petrielli-Pulice tells PAPER that she designs her pieces to be memorable without succumbing to trends — “pieces you can keep in your collection forever and it will never go out of style,” she says. From bright trench coats to evening gowns and bustiers, she has dressed no shortage of superstars, including Phoebe Bridgers, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Julia Fox, Demi Lovato and FKA twigs.
Kardashian, who’s been sporting Vex since 2019, has made latex a regular part of her personal style. (You may recall the video of her squeezing into a full Balmain latex look.) She has worn Vex for red carpets, talk shows and other promo, like the metallic matching set she chose for a SKIMS launch earlier this summer.
Petrielli-Pulice says her favorite look that Kardashian has ever worn was during her appearance on Ellen in March of this year, when she sported a remake of Pamela Anderson’s sultry black dress and ’90s updo. The Vex designer adds that Kardashian’s team (including stylist Dani Levi) has always been amazing to work with and “they always have a clear vision on what they’re looking for.”
More recently, Petrielli-Pulice teamed up with Kardashian to create a custom look for her Beats by Dre. collaboration. In the campaign, Kardashian wears a two-piece zip-up sports bra and bike shorts to match, styled with her new line of neutral earphones. The metallic color complements Kardashian’s now signature ice-blonde hair and muted color palette.
Photo via Getty
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